


Blooming Love

by quirklessbunny



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Human, Cuddling & Snuggling, First Dates, Fluff, Happy, Kissing, M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 02:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15832197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quirklessbunny/pseuds/quirklessbunny
Summary: Antonio can't help but fall in love with the man who curses through flowers and smiles so smugly afterwards.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lady_Knight16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Knight16/gifts).



> happy spamano christmas in july/august my dear!

The bell above the door jingles, announcing the arrival of a customer. Antonio glances up when he hears it, then back down at the flowers he's working on. “I'll be out in a moment!” he calls, then finishes putting together the bouquet he was working on. The moment he steps out of the back, he jumps at the sound of something slamming against the counter.

“I need to know how to say 'fuck you' in flower form. There's this dick at my work and I have to 'apologize' to him for cursing at him. If I use flowers, they'll think I'm actually apologizing. I'm so fucking smart!” He grins triumphantly, then waits for Antonio to start to talk. “Come one, I need to get this done.” Lovino taps his fingers against the counter in annoyance, until Antonio finally starts to move.

“Alright. Let's see, well. Yellow carnations say disappointment, orange lilies are hatred, geraniums for stupidity, foxglove for insincerity, and meadowsweet for uselessness. Is there anything you want more of than others?” Antonio asks with a smile. Having angry people coming in for bouquets like this really make his day. The colours are beautiful together, and it seems like the angrier the person is, the better they tip.

Antonio steps away for a moment and brings back a plain, clear vase along with the flowers, arranging them in front of Lovino while he changes more or less of one. The bouquet is one of the most beautiful Antonio has ever made, he decides as he looks down at the stunning flowers, and snaps a picture of it before tying the bow and telling Lovino the total. He smiles sweetly at the smug man, then hands him another flower.

“On the house,” Antonio assures. “But don't mix it with the bouquet. It'll ruin the meaning.” He smiles as Lovino thanks him and drops some money in the tip jar as well before leaving.

Lovino looks curiously at the extra flower. A light purple rose. He shrugs and puts it in the water bottle that was lying on the floor of his car before driving off to give the bouquet over to the person he's 'apologizing' to. The person seems to accept it easily enough, and he's no longer in trouble with the HR department where he works, it seems. He sits at his desk and looks at the rose with a little sigh, then gets to work.

A week later, he's walking back into the flower shop. “I need another 'fuck you' bouquet!” he calls, when he doesn't immediately see Antonio. He hears rustling nearby and turns to see Antonio pop out from behind a rack of bows. Glitter covers his face and hair, making Lovino snort a little. “Looks like you have glitter freckles or something,” he tells him. Antonio's smile after that makes his heart race and his cheeks redden a little. “Any ways, I screwed up again.”

Antonio laughs at that, then picks up another plain vase and puts together the bouquet again. “You're really quite the troublemaker, aren't you?” he asks, unable to let his smile fall. He gives Lovino another lavender rose after he pays, then waves goodbye to him. He sighs a little, then winces as some glitter falls into his eye.

Lovino looks down at the bouquet, not knowing what to do with it. He didn't, in fact, need another one, he just wanted to talk with Antonio again. He gives it away to a random person on the street, hoping that they don't know what it means. He heads to work shortly after, wondering why he's doing this. It's kinda weird to hit on someone while they're at work, isn't it? He argues with himself that he's not hitting on the guy, he's just buying flowers. Even if he doesn't need them.

He looks up some flower meanings on the internet, then prints them off to remember them. As he's doing this, he sees that lavender roses mean love at first sight, but he puts that off to just being a coincidence. He's only gotten two of them, so it's probably nothing. Just what Antonio had lying around, right? He sighs, even he knows that probably isn't true, but it's weird to think anyone might like him.

He comes back once a week, usually spending the time to chat with Antonio while the bouquet is being put together. By the eighth time he comes in, they know each other pretty well. Lovino smiles a little as he leans on the counter, the bouquet long since forgotten as Antonio leans a little closer over the counter, smiling as well. It's a soft and adoring smile, one he usually saves for friends or family, but he can't help but give it to Lovino.

“So what's the excuse this time, Lovi?” he asks teasingly, pushing the flowers towards him. “I stopped believing the whole HR thing the fourth or fifth time around. You've got quite the vocabulary, but even you can't charm your way into keeping your job that easily.” Antonio winks at Lovino as he blushes darkly, the hands over a lavender rose. “For you again, Lovino. You have such a commanding personality, I really enjoy you being around. When can I expect you back?”

Lovino pauses a little, then takes the rose gently. “I guess my only excuse at this point is just to see you,” he admits, then blushes a little. He pays for the bouquet when it's pushed towards him, then sighs. “I'm not sure. Boss is dumping a bunch of shit on me soon, so I'll be kinda busy.” Lovino pauses for a moment, before pulling out his business card and writes down his personal phone number. “Here, maybe we don't need to wait til I can come in next. I've never been a fan of dancing around things like this.” He sniffs the rose, then pulls it away.

Antonio takes the money and puts it into the register, then grins at him, reading the number over. “I disagree, the dance is where the fun is. Me getting your number is just one dip, we've still got quite a lot of footwork left,” he says, tucking the card into his apron. “Now now, Lovi, the next step and twist is up to me, I suppose.” His eyes sparkle as he watches Lovino holding the rose, loving the way he looks. “I'll text you,” he promises as the bell over the door announces a new customer.

Lovino sighs in disappointment. He likes having Antonio's attention, he finds. He takes the flowers, giving them to the lady at the front desk, then heads upstairs. His next few weeks are incredibly busy, but the texts he gets from Antonio help keep his spirits up. He tells one of his friends about it, and finally decides to take the next step himself, since Antonio doesn't seem like he's going to be the one to do it.

They agree to meet up at a cafe to hang out, then see a movie afterwards. Lovino gets worried that night when he gets dressed for the date, changing outfit after outfit before finally landing on one that he likes more than the others.

The cafe is bustling with life when he arrives. He doesn't go in quite yet, bouncing from foot to foot as he thinks about it. It's going to be the first time he's ever hung out with Antonio outside of the flower shop, and he's honestly a little nervous about it. Well, he tells himself, it can't go well if it doesn't happen. This is what finally prompts him to walk into the warm building.

The lighting inside is soft, and when he sees Antonio by the window his breath catches. He looks beautiful, lit on one side by the soft yellow light above and on the other by the moonlight. His eyes are sparkling. For the first time in his life, Lovino thinks he may know what it's like to truly be in love. Time almost seems to slow as he stares at the beautiful man in front of him, and he wishes briefly that he could spend the time to paint him like this. The trance finally breaks when Antonio makes eye contact, and Lovino sits across from him with a blush.

“Hey,” Lovino says lamely, wishing that he was able to stop himself and start off with something else, but it's too late.

Antonio's eyes sparkle with amusement as he echoes the greeting, then pulls a bouquet off the seat beside him, then hands it over. It's all lavender roses, and has a little note tucked between some of the blooms. Lovino blushes as he takes it, pulling the note out.

“I didn't get you anything. I'll pay for the food, then,” he tells Antonio as he unfolds it. Lovino sucks in a breath as he reads it, then folds it and practically throws himself across the table to hug him. He sits back and opens it again, having to convince himself that it's real. The third time, he reads it aloud.

“Dearest Lovino,

I am a simple man who is not good with his words. I often mix up things and can't speak what I want to say, yet here I write to you a note. I speak with flowers though it seems we've hit a language barrier. Our dance cannot continue if you don't understand the meanings. The roses I give mean 'love at first sight' and truly, I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. The passion in your eyes and in your actions drove me wild. As we continue with our pas de duex I hope to only shower you with more flowers and more meanings, until we speak the same language.

As John Lennon so famously said 'Love is the flower you've got to let grow'. So grow a garden with me, Lovino.

Antonio'

 

Lovino sniffles a little, then nods. “Yes, Toni. You're such a dork, you could've just asked me to go out with you. Damn, this is like a marriage proposal.” He leans across the table and kisses him gently.

Antonio smiles into his lips and kisses him back, glad he was able to make him so happy. When they finally separate, he can say pretty confidently that he loves the way Lovino looks when he radiates happiness. And he's going to do his best to make that smile appear more often. Antonio looks out the window and towards the stars, thanking whatever angel sent Lovino to him, because he knows that his life is going to be happier from now on.


	2. Chapter 2

The smell of cinnamon and sugar almost overwhelms Antonio as he steps into his boyfriend's apartment. He kicks off his shoes, as he learned a few visits ago that getting the carpet dirty is a bad plan. The plastic wrapping the rainbow array of flowers crinkles as he shifts it hand to hand to take off his coat. It's always warm in Lovino's home. Too warm, sometimes, but with the chilly weather recently, he can't complain.

Lovino jumps when he slides his arms around his middle, flowers coming up between them, but his look of surprise changes to one of happiness. “I didn't hear you come in, Toni,” he says, turning in his arms to kiss him.

Antonio smiles into it, hugging him a little closer. As they pull away, Antonio licks some sticky sugar from his lips. “Sampling the goods, Mr. Baker?” he teases, moving over to the vase in the middle of Lovino's table and replacing the dead blooms already in it with the new ones, then adds some water. “Smells really good. Are we just gonna have dessert for dinner?”

Lovino rolls his eyes then nods. “Yeah, course. The batter has to taste right, stupid.” He laughs at the second comment. “Do you want dessert for dinner? Would be quite the waste of take out. Dinner is on it's way, just be patient,” he responds. He pours the brownie batter in a pan and levels it, then puts it into the oven. “If you're starving then you can have one of the cinnamon rolls I made earlier. They're in that container over there,” he says as he points at it.

Antonio immediately takes him up on that offer, taking the biggest one he can find. The frosting makes a mess of his fingers, but he doesn't care, just drops it on the plate with a self satisfied little smile. “Damn, Lovi, your food is always the best,” he says as he sits down. His first bite is stolen by Lovino, though, causing a pout on his face. “Lovi! That was mine,” he whines, but doesn't actually retaliate.

Lovino laughs softly and leans down, giving him a soft kiss. The taste of the cinnamon roll still fresh and sweet on his lips, and Antonio can't help but want more. He cups Lovino's cheek, smiling into his mouth, then slowly pulls away. His eyes go wide when he sees the frosting mess he made in Lovino's hair.

“What?” Lovino asks, reaching up to touch where Antonio is looking. His finger tips come away sticky, but he just licks it away. “Oh well, hazards of kissing a clumsy dork,” he teases, leaning down to kiss his nose softly. Antonio laughs in response, then finally starts to eat the cinnamon roll.

“Thanks, Lovi, it's really good. I'm so lucky I met someone so talented.” He finishes his dessert pretty quickly, then leans back in the chair with a satisfied huff. “Talk about getting dessert before dinner. You just spoil me,” he says, getting up to wash his hands, then pulls Lovino in for another kiss. This time, Antonio only pulls away because he's interrupted by the doorbell.

Dinner is amazing and Antonio doesn't think take out has ever tasted so good. It couldn't possibly be the company, he tells himself, but every time he manages to make Lovino laugh he just falls more in love. Everything seems painted in a warm, rose tinted glow as he stares at Lovino, and he can't help but want to immortalize the image in his mind. The way his eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles, the light in his eyes as he talks about things he enjoys. Antonio never wants to stop seeing him this way.

As the night continues, they don't leave the table, too wrapped up in each other and talking. They eat the brownies and other sweets Lovino made, talking about everything and nothing all at once. Finally, Antonio's back aches and Lovino's eyes are having trouble staying open and they move to Lovino's bed, tangled up in each other and the sheets as they give each other last goodnight kisses.

Lovino is asleep in seconds, but Antonio doesn't seem to be able to follow, instead just lays next to him and enjoys the comfort of having him so close. He closes his eyes and eventually goes to sleep as well, curling up around his boyfriend.


End file.
